


A Supercut of Us

by sugarlessgum



Series: Queliot Week 2019 [4]
Category: The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Timelines, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, other pairings briefly mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-24
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2020-05-15 05:27:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,260
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19289080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sugarlessgum/pseuds/sugarlessgum
Summary: a series of vignettes from across timelines





	A Supercut of Us

**Author's Note:**

> Queliot Week Day 6: Alternate Timeline
> 
> Title from "Supercut" by Lorde

**01.**

They make it all the way to Fillory the first time around. They don't even hear the whispered rumors of any kind of Beast until they've reached Castle Whitespire.

"So we'll hit up the armory and find something to take out this Beast," Eliot says. He grabs Quentin's hand and leads the entire group through the halls. "We're magicians with an entire royal army at our disposal, I'm not worried about it. Now, let's go see our new thrones."

They don't last longer than a few hours before the curse wins.

 

**04.**

Eliot and Margo travel after graduation. They send Quentin kitschy postcards from Venice, Prague, Beijing. He keeps them all tucked inside his worn copy of  _The World in the Walls_.

Quentin mopes around campus for an entire semester, tagging along with Julia and Kady everywhere until graduation. He returns from the odd, secretive commencement ceremony to find Eliot and Margo waiting for him in the Cottage. For the first time in a year, it feels like home again.

They move into a penthouse in the city. Julia and the others come too because they've all formed an unfortunate codependency on each other, even if they aren't all as obvious about it as Quentin. About a week after they move in, Eliot and Margo tell him about the button.

They're sitting in the kitchen late one night, drinking and sharing stories from abroad, when Margo pulls out a small white button trapped inside a plastic case.

"We bought it off some creep in Cardiff calling himself Lovelady," Eliot tells him. "Supposedly it will transport you to another world."

"Like in the books," Margo adds. There's a manic glint in her eyes. "Quentin. This could take us to Fillory."

Quentin studies the button, then his friends' faces. The whole thing is ridiculous and if it were anyone else he'd think they were playing an elaborate joke on him. But Margo loves Fillory as much as Quentin does, and Eliot loves them both more than anything.

They decide to tell the others in the morning. They're going to Fillory.

 

**05.**

Magic is real. Quentin should be living in bliss right now, but he's struggling with the same bullshit problems as usual.

His classes are hard, some of them far more tedious than a lecture on  _magical fucking creatures_ has any right to be. He still can't socialize to save his life. The only real friend he's made since coming to Brakebills is Alice, and that's only because she's dating Julia. And, just to drive the point home that he doesn't fit in, he's just learned that he doesn't even have a discipline.

"I'm a nothing-mancer," he says to Alice. They're standing outside the Physical Cottage, trying to magic their way through the locked door. "A squat-mancer."

"It's not that bad. Plenty of magicians don't figure out their discipline until they're older."

"That's easy for you to say. You can bend light, Alice. That's incredible." Alice shrugs and they stand there a few moments before Quentin has an idea. "Wait. You can  _bend light._ "

It takes nearly forty minutes but they manage to burn a hole through the door and let themselves in. Once they're over the threshold, an older student comes stumbling over to welcome them with a pair of neon green cocktails. He's tall, has long, dark curls hanging over his forehead, and he's dressed impeccably.

"Congratulations," he says. "You're now a part of the most interesting people on campus. I'm Eliot."

Quentin is... well, speechless. So Alice introduces them both.

"I'm Alice Quinn, and this is Quentin."

"Alice Quinn? The whole campus is abuzz over you," Eliot says, though his eyes haven't left Quentin. "Why don't I give you both a tour of the house?"

Alice grins at Quentin, a mischievous  _you're welcome_ written on her face as she says, "Actually, I think I'll join the party for now. But I'm sure Quentin would love a tour."

 

**14.**

Penny is a dick. He and Quentin spend their first week at Brakebills fighting constantly, but deep down he's actually a good guy and they somehow end up in the same circle of friends. So by the time they move out of the dorms and into discipline housing, they've developed a begrudging mutual respect. And, although neither of them would ever admit to it, they actually start to enjoy each other's company.

So Penny spends a lot of time in the Cottage to escape from the "hippie freaks" in the Psychic house. He starts spending even more time there after meeting Margo Hanson. Hooking up turns into dating turns into spending almost every day together. And Margo never goes anywhere without her best friend Eliot so Penny starts dragging Quentin along with them to make it less awkward (though Quentin would argue he makes every situation more awkward just by being there).

Eliot and Quentin get to know each other while Margo and Penny are distracted with their odd, aggressive version of moon eyes. Before long, they're spending time together without the others — exploring campus together, staying up all night in the Cottage's living room, sneaking off campus to hit up muggle bars.

After a while, it stops being Quentin and Eliot awkwardly tagging along with their friends and turns into what none of them are willing to call double dates.

 

**16.**

Fifteen. Times.

Fifteen times Henry Fogg has watched the same group of students take on an unconquerable Beast, and fifteen times he's seen them fail. A third of those times, the Beast got to them before they even had a chance to meet. The right people didn't connect and the group splintered off in different directions. Martin Chatwin came for them before they could start working together. They didn't stand a chance.

So Henry has decided to take matters into his own hands.

Quentin Coldwater's importance to the group was obvious — in every timeline, he was the one who brought everyone together. Which is why Henry has Eliot Waugh sitting in his office, frowning at an invitation-sized piece of cardstock.

"Have you considered I may have better things to do today than babysit one of your young hopefuls?" he asks.

"Have  _you_ considered that I've been showing you a kindness in not looking too deeply into the parties you and Miss Hanson throw. A kindness that can easily be revoked." Eliot glowers at him from across the desk then sighs dramatically.

"Fine. Don't say I never did anything for you."

For the first (and far from the last) time, Eliot is sent to welcome Quentin to Brakebills.

 

**18.**

Eliot doesn't do relationships and he  _definitely_ doesn't do feelings. So when he finds himself getting a little too fond of Quentin, he puts a stop to any designs he had on seducing him. They're friends and it's great. Quentin starts following Alice Quinn around with puppy dog eyes and it's  _fine._

Eliot distracts himself with parties and boys. Then they're going to Fillory and warring with the Beast. He can almost forget the stabbing pain in his chest whenever he sees Quentin and Alice together.

Almost.

 

**21.**

Eliot is the first friend Quentin makes at Brakebills and one of the best friends he's ever had, full stop. So when he starts developing feelings for Eliot, he tries desperately to snuff them out. He's gone down this road before and it nearly destroyed his friendship with Julia.

It doesn't work.

Instead, he focuses on keeping his feelings locked out of view. Especially once Eliot and Penny become a Thing. He obviously doesn't do a very good job, because Julia and Margo have both taken to giving him worried looks whenever Eliot and Penny are especially affectionate.

"Don't worry," Eliot says as they make their way to the Knight of Crowns. "You still get to be a king. Obviously."

Quentin gives him a tight smile and walks ahead.

 

**29.**

Eliot didn't expect to care this much about Quentin Coldwater. He was just supposed to be another first-year flavor of the month, here and gone before midterms. He isn't prepared for the fear that creeps in when Quentin tells him the Dean is calling in a specialist — universally understood by every Brakebills student to mean a memory wipe.

He tries to brush it off, calm both Quentin and himself down. Says, "How about I find you and I don't say magic is real, but I do seduce you and so lift your spirits so that life retains its sparkle for decades."

"Yeah, that sounds nice. Thank you."

They were joking. Mostly. But now Quentin is gone and Eliot doesn't know what else to do.

Which is why he's standing outside a bookstore/coffee shop ten minutes from Yale. He's out on the sidewalk, debating whether or not he should go in, when Quentin steps outside. They walk right into each other and Quentin spills his coffee over both of their shoes.

"Sorry," he says. "So sorry, I wasn't paying attention, I-"

Quentin stops his fumbling and  _(finally)_ looks up at Eliot.

"Do I... know you? You seem familiar."

Eliot smiles, small and sad. "Maybe in another life. Sorry about the coffee. I was completely zoning out. Let me buy you another one?"

Quentin smiles back, and it's so shy and sweet and so very  _Quentin_ that it nearly breaks Eliot's heart.

"Sure, that sounds... Yeah. Okay."

 

**31.**

Eliot convinces Margo to take over tour guide duty for him. After all, it's both of their reputations at stake. Besides, she totally owes him. She comes back with a new boy toy and he almost regrets his decision.

Quentin is cute and he's sweet and he's unapologetically nerdy in a way that's honestly endearing. But most importantly, he understands Margo in a way most people don't. He sees all of her layers — party animal, overachiever, aggressively intelligent, unrepentantly competitive, equal parts nerd and glamorous mega bitch — and he adores all of them.

He understands Eliot, too.

They have moments here and there, when Margo's in class or gone to bed early. Moments where it's just the two of them. Eliot finds himself opening up in a way he never does. Sharing bits of himself and his past no one but Margo has seen. Quentin knows him and it's as terrifying as it is intoxicating.

Eliot knows he should feel guilty. His best friend (soulmate, really) has finally found a perfect match. She's let someone besides Eliot into her heart. It's strange, not being the only center of her attention anymore. He's honestly not sure which one of them he's more jealous of.

She notices. Of course she does. She corners him one day while Quentin's in class.

"So are you gonna grow a pair of tits and tell me what's wrong? Or will I have to track down one of the psychics to incept you?"

He considers lying, but he knows she'll see right through him. So he tells her everything. She isn't angry or upset. In fact, by the time he's finished talking, she has a soft smile on her face. She takes both of his hands into hers.

"El, I'm so glad you told me. Quentin and I have already talked about this."

Eliot wakes up the next morning tucked between Quentin and Margo, and he's never felt luckier in his life.

 

**40.**

Eliot's been back in his body for over a month. It's still hard, sometimes, to remember that it's his. To shake the feeling that there's something lurking under the surface, ready to take back control.

The first thing he does when he's cleared from the hospital is cut his hair and burn every single stupid t-shirt the Monster left behind. He stands in front of the mirror for over an hour, staring himself down, searching for any trace of the Monster. Searching even harder for himself.

His biggest support comes from, unexpectedly, Alice and Julia. They've both had their fair share of experience facing off with gods, feeling too big for their bodies,  missing the all-consuming, unadulterated _power_ buzzing under their skin. The three of them pile together on the couch or in bed, offering stories and coping mechanisms. Sometimes they just sit together in silence, breathing in the quiet understanding they offer each other. It's one of the only things keeping Eliot from falling apart, and he almost forgets to be hurt about Alice and Quentin.

Almost.

Eliot's been back in his body for over a month and Quentin is still cautious around him. At first, Eliot thought it was lingering fear from the Monster. From what he understands, Quentin was with him for the longest and he was the Monster's favorite target. But it doesn't take long to realize that it isn't fear in Quentin's eyes — it's worry.

Eliot stands from the couch too fast and aggravates his stitches, and Quentin is across the room and at his side in a second. Eliot spends a day sick in the bathroom from withdrawal, of all fucking things, and Quentin lingers in the hallway ready to help him back to bed. Eliot spends too long staring into space and comes back to find Quentin frowning at him, forehead pinched with concern.

They talk but they still haven't Talked. Partly because Eliot still has trouble finding language for what he's feeling. It's a familiar problem and it's only been heightened by his prolonged out-of-body experience. And partly because he can't help but feel the whole conversation would be pointless. He had his chance, he threw it away, Quentin moved on. It's understandable and not at all surprising. That doesn't make it hurt any less.

Eliot's been back in his body for over a month when Alice packs all her worldly belongings and absconds from the penthouse. She'd been offered a position with the Library as the new Head Librarian. After several weeks of waffling and brooding and talking it over with Kady, she's decided to take it.

Eliot wonders if her decision has anything to do with the sour mood she's been in, or vice versa. It hasn't escaped anyone in the apartment's notice how strangely she and Quentin have been acting towards each other. Eliot feels like a bad friend for not talking to either of them about it but he's not emotionally ready to hear about their relationship in detail.

Alice drags her bag out to the living room where Penny 23 is waiting to give her a ride. She stops by Eliot on her way out, awkwardly shifting her bag from hand to hand.

"Take care of yourself, Eliot." She drops a gentle kiss on his forehead and then she's gone.

Quentin seems surprisingly well-adjusted after her departure, but Eliot knows how he tends to repress to the point of self-destruction. So he bites the bullet. He decides to be the kind of friend Quentin deserves, willing to set aside his own shit for a minute and look after someone else.

"How have you been doing?" he asks when they're alone one night, cleaning up after dinner. Quentin looks at him from across the kitchen, face scrunched up in confusion.

"How have I been doing? Shouldn't I be asking you that question?"

"You have. Repeatedly. I meant, how have you been doing since Alice left?"

"Oh." Quentin's face smooths over but he's still looking at Eliot strangely, as if it's an unusual question to ask. "Fine, I guess. I mean, it's not like we're never going to see her again."

Eliot nods, arranging his face very carefully.

"Right, right. So, are you, uh. Are you two gonna do the long distance thing then?"

Quentin freezes, drops the plate he was rinsing back in the sink. He turns completely around to look at Eliot, his face doing something complicated that Eliot doesn't have the energy to read.

"Eliot," he says slowly, like he's explaining something to a child. "Alice and I broke up weeks ago."

Oh. That certainly explains the weird tension between them. Eliot blinks a few times, willing his brain to start functioning well enough for a reply.

"I didn't know. I'm sorry," he finally manages.

"Don't be. We should have never got back together in the first place."

"Why did you? Get back together, I mean," Eliot asks, because he's a masochist apparently. Quentin wipes the suds off his hands and crosses the room, sitting next to Eliot at the island.

"Honestly? Because I was lonely. We both were. I spent months feeling so... hopeless, and so alone. I was kind of desperate for anything that might make me feel better. Which wasn't fair to her." Quentin pauses, shakes his head. "Our relationship was so fucked up for so long, I think we forgot how to be in each other's lives any other way. We're working on that. Learning how to be friends again. It's... nice."

"Good. That's really good. I'm happy for you, Q." It's all he can manage at the moment. His brain is stuck on  _broke up weeks ago._

"Would you still be happy for me if Alice and I were together?"

"If that's what made you happy, then yes." It's only half a lie. Quentin sits there for a moment, searching his face for something. He seems to find an answer because he moves to stand up.

"Okay," he says. Eliot grabs his wrist before he can walk away.

"Wait. Quentin... I thought you were with Alice." Quentin raises an eyebrow.

"Yeah, I'm getting that."

"No, I mean." Eliot takes a steadying breath. He spent months in his own head practicing what he would say when this moment came. Now that it's here, he can't think of a goddamn thing.

"I thought you were with Alice," he starts again. "And I didn't want to be the guy who fucked up your relationship, again. And I didn't want to fuck up my friendship with either of you. So I didn't say anything."

"Say anything about what?"

Quentin's face is blank. It's an expression Eliot is intimately familiar with. Putting up your walls, keeping your expectations low so it hurts less when you fall. Eliot lets go of his wrist and folds their hands together.

"I lied," he says. He still can't look Quentin in the eye, focusing instead on their fingers intertwined. "When I said that wasn't us. That I wouldn't choose you. I lied."

He chances a look up and he can see Quentin's mask slipping, the familiar too-full look in his eyes taking over. Eliot plunges on before either of them can lose their nerve.

"I was scared. Even after everything we'd been through, I still... I couldn't believe someone so good and true could look at me and see someone worth loving."

"El..." Quentin runs his free hand through Eliot's hair, resting it on the back of his neck. Eliot closes his eyes and lets it ground him.

"You're one of the best things that's ever happened to me, Q. I'm sorry if I made you feel like that wasn't enough. And I understand if it's too late. I just couldn't not say anything anymore."

Quentin pulls their hands apart, and Eliot panics for a moment before Quentin places both hands on either side of his face.

"Eliot. You're the love of my life. Of both my lifetimes. Of course it's not too late."

"Oh. Good."

It's not the most eloquent response. He doesn't have much time to reflect on it anyways before they're both leaning forward and his world narrows down to the point where their lips meet.


End file.
